Sister Fa

'Hip hop chose me to speak for all the people who cannot say what happened to them, why they are suffering.'

Born in Dakar, Senegal, in 1982, Sister Fa first embraced hip hop in 2000. Eighteen years old, she recorded her first demo and ingratiated herself within the Senegalese rap community as part of the lineup of music festivals in the country.

Only one year after her first foray into hip hop, Sister Fa was invited to perform at the Senegalese Hip Hop Awards in 2001.

In 2005, Sister Fa's self-produced debut album was released. The album Hip Hop Yaw La Fal earned her a nomination for Best Newcomer at the fifth Senegalese Hip Hop Awards. With her rising popularity, the artist created music focusing on pressing social issues, most notably, the status of women in her native Senegal.

In March 2006, Sister Fa followed her Austrian ethnologist and documentary filmmaker husband to Berlin, Germany, where she met the members of her future band. The formation of this band led Sister Fa to mix the traditional rhythms of Senegal with hip hop, jazz and reggae. It was also at this time that Sister Fa discovered her abilities as a singer.

In May 2009, Sister Fa made her international debut with the album Sarabah - Tales from the Flipside of Paradise. In 2010, Sister Fa embarked on a three-week tour of Senegal. Called Dubbed Education sans Excision (Education without Cutting), the tour was intended to spread awareness about the dangers of female genital mutilation, a cause close to Sister Fa's heart.

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